1. Field of the Invention
In a typical barbeque grill, there are two or more tube burners arranged with a burner cover, with the burner cover consisting of an angular or semi-circular piece of sheet metal placed at a set distance over the burner. The burner cover performs two functions: first, it prevents grease or fat from dripping onto the open flame which could cause a fire and secondly, it assists in achieving an even distribution of heat within the grill. So the burner cover serves as a drip panel for grease or fat, as well as a heat reflector.
There are also grills available on the market which have a layer of lava rock or porous ceramic plates arranged at a set distance from the burner. These types of grills use the lava rock or ceramic plates to serve the same functions as those with burner covers.
With either type of barbeque grill, it is desirable to obtain the greatest amount of even heating over the surface of the grill. This is true for both open and closed grills.
After using a barbeque grill, it's necessary to clean a number of parts inside the grill, as well as to clean the interior of the grill itself to remove fat, sauces, marinades, etc.
With any open barbeque grill, even distribution of the heat can be disrupted by a slight breeze. This can make the distribution of heat in the interior of the grill uneven, since any heat rising from the burners is deflected by the breeze.
With electric grills, attempts have been made to completely replace the grill grate with a plate of heat resistant glass or cast aluminum, thereby housing an electric burner in a sealed lower portion. This poses a problem as pieces of meat, such as steaks, tend to stick to the glass or aluminum plate. Fat and other drippings remain on the surface of the heat resistant glass or cast aluminum, since they cannot drain off the plate, until they're burnt to soot. Air does not circulate around the steak, which causes the steak to develop a bitter taste. The steak will also lack the typical dark stripes found on steaks cooked on a conventional grill.
This invention attempts to solve these problems by creating a grill interior that's as easy to clean as possible, by developing a grill that is not sensitive to breezes when food is cooked with the grill open. When used as a closed grill, cooking a steak or other meats without acquiring a bitter taste and forming the typical dark stripes one would expect on a steak grilled.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,867 discloses a barbeque grill that has drip panels disposed below the cooking grate that supports the food. The drip panels are attached to the barbeque housing by mounting bolts that are welded to the drip panels. The mounting bolts extend through the grill housing and use a friction mechanism and a locking nut system to hold them in position relative to the burners. The drip panels cannot be moved in relationship to each other since there is no mechanical linkage between them. They are independently adjusted to the desired position, rotationally and transnationally (up and down). Drippings from the food contact the panels and are vaporized with the excess draining towards a grease evacuation system defined in the bottom of the grill housing. The invention also discloses that the drip panels redirect radiant heat, which causes the rear of the grill to be cooked slower than the front of the grill.
This is substantially different than the present invention, as the present invention does not have adjustable drip panels. The drip panels are held in a fixed position to allow the food drippings to drain away towards the center of the grill housing where a grease gutter collects the grease for future cleaning. The present invention also has infinitely adjustable heat dissipation panels which radiate heat and also prevent wind from extinguishing the flame from the burners. A most notable difference is that the drip panels in the present invention are located below the burners, where in the disclosed invention the burners are located below the drip panels and below a grate to hold lava rocks.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,853 discloses a sear grid for a portable grill. The sear grid replaces lava rock that is very popular in barbeque grills. The sear grid is located above the burners and allows grease to evaporate preventing uncontrolled flare-ups during cooking. The sear grid is a series of V shaped heat-conductive material members, where the V apex is pointed upwards. A plurality of these V shaped members are located above the burners and spaced, creating a grid.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,752,433 discloses a barbeque grill where the burner is designed to allow grease to be vaporized on its surface without clogging the burner holes. The firebox has angled sides to drain liquids coming from the cooking grate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,059 discloses a cooking grill that has a series of grease collector plates that are mounted so as to be inclined and overlying an adjacent bar which prevents grease from hitting the burner and igniting. The grease collector plates can be pivoted away from the flame source. The primary purpose of the patent is to provide a means to collect the grease prior to dripping onto the burner which will cause grease fires.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,606 discloses a barbecue grill that is deep and has a cup at the bottom to collect grease from the cooked foods. The bottom is angled to direct the grease into the cup. The firebox has a tongue to assist the grease into the bottom of the firebox when the cover of the barbecue is closed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,265,586 discloses a barbeque grill that has deflectors that catch grease. The deflectors are situated at an acute angle above a heat chamber that has a baffled floor structure to direct heat to the overlying cooking grate.
The above disclosed patents have an underlying theme of attempting to eliminate the grease fires that occur when grease drips onto an open flame from a gas burner. The various attempts are similar in that they are angled panels that direct the drippings away from the burner, which eliminates the fire. The various disclosed patents attempt to vaporize the grease in order to provide an enhanced flavor to the cooked food. None of these patents disclose an infinitely variable heat dissipation panel that prevents the burners from being extinguished by a side wind by causing the heat dissipation panels to vary their angles, which minimizes or virtually eliminates the effects of side winds.